Good Deal or Not? “directly on the future trolley line” edition

“Beautifully renovated home located directly on the future trolley line, blocks from bustling H St! The home features private secured parking, stainless steel appliances, and master bath with Jacuzzi tub and separate double walk-in shower. The fully finished basement boasts its own bathroom with jetted tub. Enjoy entertaining outdoors on the deck and plenty of garden space.”

57 Comment

As noted below, this is a rough neighborhood– and I live just south of Benning Road here, so I’m not some NW neophyte who doesn’t know. That said, this is one of the better deals I’ve seen on GDoN. That neighborhood IS going to change, and change rapidly, in the next few years, and it’s virtually impossible to get a renovated house for this price anywhere near a major infrastructure project like the streetcar.

It’s worth noting, however, that the reno looks incredibly cheap. The fridge doesn’t even fit in the kitchen, lord knows what else is wrong with it.

Live near Union Station. Always take a cab when coming home late at night. If you’re a male, you probably don’t understand how dangerous it is for females to walk alone at night no matter where you live.

I’m a female, and while I don’t argue with the distinction and the additional risk that comes with being female vs being male, I would definitely consider a neighborhood where I couldn’t walk alone at night a bad neighborhood–well, maybe I wouldn’t word it so strongly as “bad neighborhood,” but at least a not-so-great neighborhood. In the major city where I lived prior to DC, I walked home alone at night all the time, as did all of my female friends. It was pretty normal (not to mention, necessary) and no one thought much of it.

Less than a year ago a 19 yo was shot in the face at point blank range at that corner at 10am on a Saturday morning. It was a nice day. That was about the 7th shooting in two years in a two-block radius and the one that helped me decide to move.

I think the response is right on the mark. The article declares “no” – as in, the poster wouldn’t move to this area – based on one shooting in one nightclub. Wasn’t it a year ago that there was a shootout on U St in broad daylight after a funeral for someone who had been shot and killed a few days earlier? Wasn’t there a similar angry club patron shooting outside a club in Adams Morgan last year?
Sure, some neighborhoods are more dangerous than others. But the original “no” post wasn’t citing overall crime statitistics, just one shooting that happened at one club.

While Columbia heights feels safe there is faaar more crime there than many (most) neighborhoods in DC…someone got beat to death with a barbell in the middle of the afternoon at the water fountain on a sunday for gods sake.

While not the best location, this area has been improving steadily and in a few years it will be worth a lot more. There aren’t many more areas near H street where you can afford property, so it will inevitably start moving down Bladensburg and Benning….

i mean there is still tons of illegal activity. drug dealing in that “playground” in sursum corda is still ever present. the big ben liquor store mess is still related to sursum corda and tyler house. people have been shot there in the past 6 months. i don’t think it’s being “technical” to say there are still problems.

I like a few sts away on H pl. While you might not want to live there, people are underestimating the area. Houses have sold for that much and more on the same block in the past year. I see more and more gentrifiers around with every month.

Good afternoon POPVILLE!!!!!!! I am the realtor for this listing and I thought I would take the opportunity to provide some answers.

One commenter raised a question about the bedrooms. The home has (2) bedrooms upstairs and two large rooms in the basement (which is a walkout). One of those two rooms could be used as a bedroom especially since there is a full-bath in the basement.

The house was renovated a few years ago and is in excellent shape for those that might be concerned about it being too good to be true. We have had a very steady stream of showings and are definitely looking forward to receiving feedback. The home will be open this Sunday from 1-4PM so I encourage everyone to stop by for a quick look!

Best Regards,

Tom Lewis – Redfin Corporation
License #: DC:SP600134

PS: If you have any other questions about the property don’t hesitate to reach out! tom.lewis@redfin.com

i think it’s a crazy good deal, though who really cares about jacuzzi tubs? if i was looking, i’d seriously consider this place. far from the metro, but, that’s not a real deterrent for me. this area will develop like mad in 5-8 years.
i don’t think the walk to h street is very nice, but theres a parking spot so get a scooter or a golf cart or something.

Is there any prospect for blowing out that strip mall and redoing it? Because it seems like that could be the sort of huge new anchor for the area that could lead to this home appreciating in price very rapidly in a very short period of time.

I used to live a half block from here. This is one of the worst streets – at one end is a housing project, and at the other a strip of Section 8 houses that have had more than one murder – and then the usual crowd that hangs out 24/7 at the corner of 19th/Benning. This isn’t one of those neighborhoods that’s going to change. Pass.

I don’t think that’s true. It’s not going to get better overnight, that’s for sure, but I would beg to differ that it’ll never get better. H St is steadily expanding, there will be a new permanent transportation option and soon businesses that are priced out of H will move further down Benning/up Bladensburg.

Seven years ago I lived across the street from a huge public housing project in Shaw (9th St). I thought “man this will never get better”, and well, we all know how that turned out. By the time I was ready to buy a house, I was priced out of the neighborhood and moved to the H St area. Now, I’d be priced out of this area if I hadn’t already bought…

The projects never went away in the old shaw neighborhood either… the neighborhood just got better around it

This place will be a good deal for someone who doesn’t mind a transitional neighborhood for a few years. There are many people who are willing to deal with it.

As for my experiences living in this area… All of my neighbors were extremely friendly. Everyone knew my name and said hello. No one bothered me. There was crime, but it seemed to be mostly drug related and not geared toward randoms. Mind your own business and you’ll be fine. That being said I would not walk around alone here at night as a female but that goes for most areas of DC. I’ve lived in other cities where I felt fine walking home alone at night but not here.

It is a nice example of ’30s architecture. The use of randomized small and large bricks, the window placement, the darker color below the lighter color, the long, narrow post and lintel motif which varies between building, the art deco banisters that end in a stone sheet. I can see why they wanted to preserve this.

We have friends who live in the area and while they say their immediate neighbors are nice and they love their big backyard and affordable mortgage, they all complain about the drug related violence. Several (these are long time Washingtonians) have had deaths in the family from street violence. My husband says that of the secretaries in his govt related office, 2 have lost sons, shot in ridiculous street crew drivebys over something like walking down the wrong street. They both live in SE.

I appreciate everyone’s optimim – but as a flipper, this neighborhood isn’t going to change. Areas near it might – but not here. There were two murders on this very street w/in the past two years and many more nearby – not to mention non- lethal shootings and stabbings. The drug trade is also very high here. Not every DC neighborhood is destined for miravulous change. Good luck to the new owners – I hope they are very tolerant and open minded.